In many rural areas, lower ratios of dentists to patients than in urban areas, and patients' lack of insurance, can make it hard to find needed dental care. Nonprofit clinics are working to fill in the gap, but many struggle to serve the large numbers of patients who need services. Dental health isn't just about fighting cavities: poor oral health and gum disease can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, poorly controlled diabetes, and preterm labor.

This guide from the Department of Health and Human Services contains information on clinical practice, evolving technologies, and recommendations in dental care for children and families receiving Medicaid.

Poor children and children of color are less likely to get the dental care they need. In a briefing for lawmakers, the Children's Dental Health Project of Washington, DC, identified some changes Congress could make to close these gaps for kids.

The Children's Dental Health Project explains the importance of the Medicaid dental benefit to six million Americans, including a look at the costs when moral health care is lacking.

About 80 percent of dental caries (tooth decay) is concentrated in just a fourth of the pediatric population, but an uneven distribution of dentists means many of these kids do not get the care they need. This White Paper explores ways the medical and dental professions can work together to better serve children under five years of age.

The Child Health Insurance Research Initiative examined children's access to preventive and other dental care in Georgia and Alabama before the adoption of new reforms, to illustrate problems in access. Nearly three-quarters of kids with Medicaid coverage received no dental services, even though they were entitled to. Improving dentists' participation in Medicaid had only a modest impact on kids' preventive care. More effective approaches included placing dentists in primary care settings, having pediatricians educate families about the importance of oral health care, and mobile health vans and other service delivery methods to target hard-to-reach kids.

America is making progress but could do more to ensure good oral health for children, according to this report card from Oral Health America. Dental sealants, for example, are one of the most cost-effective ways to protect against tooth decay, but only 23 percent of U.S. 8-year-olds have them. The report also calls for better state guidelines on "competitive foods" -- low-nutrition, high-sugar foods -- available in schools.

Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood. The January 2003 edition of the Oral Health and Children and Adolescents knowledge path offers information for policymakers, health professionals, researchers and families.

For a significant number of children, bad oral health is a painful and chronic reality. This November 2002 National Governors Association brief describes what states can do to ensure these children have regular access to competent care and prevention.

This report from the California Dental Access Project reviews and analyzes the complex issues that must be considered and addressed to improve access to, and quality of, oral health care services for underserved populations in California.